On a video online demonstrating an Allante and the ease of putting up the soft top, the demonstrator raises the top, but two plastic paddle-like things, the color of the "boot cover," fall off. He picks them up and places them in the deck area of the car. They look like mud flaps. He just acts as though these are not important pieces. What are they? What do they do? Why did they fall off? Thanks

Sounds like the mini-covers that cover the exposed top mechanism at each end of the boot cover. They store on little clips in the top well when not in use. I never bother with mine

Do these have to be removed when raising or lowering the top? I am just wondering why these just fell off as he was raising the top?

Yes, you do need to remove and store them before lowering the top. Some folks just throw them behind the seats or in the trunk. Many owners don't even have them or they were lost. Replacing them is not cheap.

These are most definitely the mini-covers described; their only purpose is aesthetic. Yes, they need to not be removed when raising the top. If they are still in, the top will force them out of place and they'll pop out and fall to the ground just like you saw. It's not that big of a deal.

I don't bother with them either, danstarley. I'm too worried about them falling off when driving...

Learn to always remove them before raising the top. Otherwise, they can fall into the car or get wedged in the top mechanism and get scraped up (like mine).

The top is probably the most challenging part of this car. Before working on it, you need to do two things:

1 - Learn a lot more swear words. You will get bored using the usual ones that you know so often.

2 - Learn to throw / flip tools out of your garage at a low angle, in anger, without hitting anything or anyone of value. (Whether you consider your car an item of value will change over time.) Practice, while using your new swear words, until you have achieved good muscle memory. It's hard to execute a good throw when you're so mad that you can only remember your old swear words and blood is shooting out of your eyes.

Learn to always remove them before raising the top. Otherwise, they can fall into the car or get wedged in the top mechanism and get scraped up (like mine).

The top is probably the most challenging part of this car. Before working on it, you need to do two things:

1 - Learn a lot more swear words. You will get bored using the usual ones that you know so often.

2 - Learn to throw / flip tools out of your garage at a low angle, in anger, without hitting anything or anyone of value. (Whether you consider your car an item of value will change over time.) Practice, while using your new swear words, until you have achieved good muscle memory. It's hard to execute a good throw when you're so mad that you can only remember your old swear words and blood is shooting out of your eyes.

Very well said, the top has taught me to be very creative in my use of curse words! :D

Chief

It's aways a great thing to keep a long screwdriver in the trunk, a cheat sheet in the glove box for those times when the top chooses not to cooperate!

Chief

It's aways a great thing to keep a long screwdriver in the trunk, a cheat sheet in the glove box for those times when the top chooses not to cooperate!

Chief

Good advice that I will implement this summer.